News from 2022
Hoverboard manufacturer and Target deny liability for girls' deaths in house fire
ALLENTOWN – A hoverboard manufacturer and Target have denied responsibility for the device igniting while charging and starting a fatal house fire in Hellertown last April, which killed two young girls.
Ballard Spahr Earns 26 National Tier 1 Rankings from Best Law Firms, Named National Law Firm of the Year for First Amendment Litigation
Ballard Spahr Earns 26 National Tier 1 Rankings from Best Law Firms, Named National Law Firm of the Year for First Amendment Litigation.
Obermayer Named in 2023 Edition OF U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” List
Obermayer earned high regional and national rankings in the 2023 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” List.
Health care facility wants to strike counts from suit alleging it flooded home with raw sewage
PITTSBURGH – A Western Pennsylvania health care facility is seeking to strike a charge of negligence per se and a demand for punitive damage, in litigation brought by a Mount Lebanon couple who alleged the bottom level of their home was ruined when raw sewage accumulated there due to a line back-up caused by the defendants.
Nursing facility employee says suit over underpaid staff should stay in Allegheny County
PITTSBURGH – A nursing home employee who alleged that the managing companies of the facility engaged in false advertising and categorical underpayment of their “Weekend Warrior”-level staff, now maintains that the case should retain jurisdiction in Allegheny County.
Hosts of party where intoxicated guest suffered paralyzing injury again say they were not at fault
PITTSBURGH – The hosts of a house party where alcohol was consumed reiterate that a man who suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury did so as the result of his own actions while intoxicated, and not due to their negligence as hosts.
Voters' groups suing state election officials over the counting of mail-in ballots
ERIE – Six voters’ rights groups have launched litigation against acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Leigh M. Chapman and all of the county boards of election statewide, in order to compel official to accept undated mail-in ballots and “not disenfranchise voters based on an immaterial paperwork error.”
AG Shapiro to succeed Wolf as Governor, Lt. Gov. Fetterman wins U.S. Senate seat
HARRISBURG – Two leaders in Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party are headed to higher office, as Attorney General Josh Shapiro has become the Commonwealth’s Governor-elect, and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will go on to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.
Palantir Technologies hit with class action shareholder lawsuit
DENVER (Legal Newsline) — A Pennsylvania county employees' retirement system is alleging it purchased an intelligence community software company's stock at artificially inflated prices.
AG's office sued by Black woman alleging age, race discrimination
HARRISBURG – An African-American and longtime Human Resources Analyst with the state attorney general’s office claims she was the target of both age and racial discrimination at the agency, and was terminated after 21 years while being replaced by substantially-younger white employee.
Disabled plaintiffs suing state over facility resident transfers get class certification, but no injunction
HARRISBURG – A federal magistrate judge has approved a motion for class certification among disabled plaintiffs who are residents of state-run residential facilities and are suing Gov. Tom Wolf and a host of other officials for alleged civil rights violations – but denied the plaintiffs’ attempt to secure preliminary injunctions in their case.
Defendants in Philly law firm's defamation suit lose out on attempt to dismiss the case
MEDIA – A state court judge has denied a dismissal motion from individuals accused of defamation and slander by a Philadelphia law firm and one of its Delaware County-based attorneys, defeating their argument as to an alleged lack of service.
Final dismissal may be imminent for privacy suit brought by former Scranton police officer
SCRANTON – A federal judge may grant a final dismissed to a lawsuit from a former member of the Scranton Police Department who claimed her confidential personnel file and personal contact information were leaked without her knowledge as part of discovery in an unrelated case.
Legal services provider counters it didn't retaliate against employee for reporting discrimination
PHILADELPHIA – A nonprofit legal services provider has denied that it committed examples of racial and disability discrimination against one of its employees, allegedly in retaliation for her reporting similar behavior in the workplace.
James W. Layne has joined our Blue Bell office
Mr. Layne is an experienced insurance defense attorney who has represented clients for more than 20 years in matters involving property damage, consumer law claims and personal damage.
Adult shop proprietor settles constitutional rights case with Upper Merion Township
PHILADELPHIA – The proprietor of an adult store in Upper Merion Township is who sought to have a declaratory judgment issued that the township’s zoning codes and ordinances were unconstitutional, and thus, violated their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, has settled their case.
Bicyclist injured on campus of Carnegie Mellon University reiterates negligence claims
PITTSBURGH – A Western Pennsylvania woman maintains her claims that a hidden speed bump she encountered during a bicycle ride on the Carnegie Mellon University campus caused her to be thrown from her bike and seriously injured.
Former accountant's counsel wants discovery docs in slander case involving fitness nonprofit
MEDIA – Counsel for a Delaware County-based accountant alleging that her former employer, a fitness nonprofit group for kids and a for-profit company, slandered her when publicly and falsely accusing her of embezzlement and payroll fraud, now claims the defendants have not cooperated with their discovery requests.
Delaware man says prison staff's negligence caused him to fall unconscious in flooded cell
MEDIA – A Delaware man alleges corrections staff at George W. Hill Correctional Facility were negligent when they allowed his cell to flood with water, which caused him to fall, knock himself unconscious and lose two of his teeth.
Walmart looks to dismiss wrongful death suit after infant allegedly dies from pillow lounger
PHILADELPHIA – Walmart is seeking to dismiss litigation filed by the Baltimore-based parents of an infant who died from suffocation, allegedly after being placed in the Boppy Original Newborn Lounger device.